Associated State (Noun)
Meaning
A state or territory partly controlled by (but not a possession of) a stronger state but autonomous in internal affairs; protectorates are established by treaty.
Classification
Nouns denoting spatial position.
Examples
- The Cook Islands form an associated state of New Zealand, allowing citizens of the islands to travel freely to New Zealand without a visa.
- Niue entered into a treaty with New Zealand in 1901, becoming an associated state with its own government and laws while relying on New Zealand for defense and foreign affairs.
- As an associated state of the United Kingdom through a treaty in 1892, Tonga's foreign affairs and defense were managed by Britain.
- Tuvalu and Nauru, both small Pacific island nations, have been associated states with an arrangement that allows Australia to oversee their defense and foreign affairs.
- The Marshall Islands and the United States have a unique relationship, as the islands are an associated state with the US, relying on it for defense and receiving aid in exchange for using the atolls to test nuclear weapons during the 1940s and 1950s